Quick & Easy Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes (Gluten Free)
These quick and easy vegan strawberry shortcake cupcakes are perfectly fluffy, sweet, and full of fresh strawberries! Minimal work to make these cupcakes, the batter is ready in 5 minutes and made in just one bowl. And the dairy free whipped cream is so fluffy and light! The perfect light and easy summer dessert!
Why you’ll love these strawberry shortcake cupcakes:
We have traditional vegan strawberry shortcake (that can easily be made gluten free using our gluten free vegan biscuits!), a vegan strawberry cake, and a vegan strawberry shortcake cake in my cookbook, so of course we needed another strawberry dessert: vegan strawberry shortcake cupcakes!
These strawberry shortcake cupcakes are so fluffy, light, and full of delicious strawberry shortcake flavor while being in the shape of a cupcake. They’re easy to make (the batter takes just 5 minutes start to finish!) and made in just one bowl.
You’ll also never know that these cupcakes are gluten free and vegan! Topped with fresh strawberries (with no added sugar to the filling) and a homemade dairy free whipped cream frosting, these strawberry shortcake cupcakes are a dream.
It’s the perfect easy vegan summer dessert for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or any summer barbecue (and cupcakes are such an easy treat to make in general for big gatherings, so check out more of our vegan cupcakes here!). You’re just going to love them!
Do I need to make these cupcakes vegan and gluten free?
I have not tested these strawberry shortcake cupcakes as non-vegan because I am vegan (and that just wouldn’t make sense!). However, I have made these cupcakes with all purpose flour instead of with oat flour.
If you don’t need these to be gluten free strawberry shortcake cupcakes, you can easily swap in all purpose flour. You’ll need either 188 grams if you’re using a kitchen scale (which I recommend), or 1 1/2 cups spoon & leveled (see how to spoon and level flour here!).
How to make vegan whipped cream:
Making vegan whipped cream may seem intimidating, but with the proper techniques, it’s actually quite easy.
I have a whole guide on how to make vegan whipped cream using coconut cream here. The most important part is chilling the coconut cream can overnight before you begin to make the whipped cream.
I also recommend using Lets Do Organic heavy whipped coconut cream. It’s extra thick, which will mean a much more stable whipped cream. You can also use a whipped cream stabilizer, such as Whip It!, which is vegan.
Alternatively, there are new vegan plant-based heavy creams for making whipped cream, such as by Silk.
And another option if you’re not ready yet to tackle vegan whipped cream (which is honestly more difficult than traditional whipped cream) for your homemade strawberry shortcake cupcakes, then I recommend checking out my easy vegan buttercream frosting!
Can I fill the cupcakes with strawberries instead of topping them?
Absolutely! You can easily core the vegan oat flour cupcakes by using a cupcake corer or a spoon and knife. You can check out this easy guide here for how to core a cupcake. Add the diced fresh strawberries to the middle of the cupcake, and pipe the coconut whipped cream on top!
Storage & Serving:
Because coconut whipped cream is a little less stable than traditional whipped cream, I recommend keep the whipped cream in the fridge before piping onto the cupcakes and serving immediately. You can then easily store the strawberry shortcake cupcakes in the fridge if you have any leftovers!
More vegan cupcake recipes you’ll love:
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
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Quick & Easy Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These quick and easy vegan strawberry shortcake cupcakes are perfectly fluffy, sweet, and full of fresh strawberries! Minimal work to make these cupcakes, the batter is ready in 5 minutes and made in just one bowl. And the dairy free whipped cream is so fluffy and light! The perfect light and easy summer dessert!
Ingredients
Vegan Oat Flour Cupcakes:
- 1 cup (110 grams/mL) dairy-free milk with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, room temperature
- 2 cups (188 grams) oat flour
- 1 tbsp Let’s Do Organic Arrowroot Starch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar or coconut sugar (see Notes)
- 1/4 cup (67 grams) vegan butter or coconut oil, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract + 1/8 tsp vanilla powder
- 6 large strawberries, diced
Vegan Whipped Cream:
- 1 can Let’s Do Organic Heavy Coconut Cream, chilled overnight
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: whipped cream stabilizer, such as Whip it!
Instructions
- Read through the instructions before beginning, and make sure to measure out all ingredients.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12 cup-cupcake tin with 10 cupcake liners. Prepare the vegan buttermilk by whisking together the dairy free milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, make sure you’re using the whisk attachment. Otherwise, you can use a large bowl and a hand mixer.
- Make the cupcake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Set aside. Add the vegan butter to a large bowl or a stand mixer bowl, along with the sugar. Use a hand mixer or the stand mixer to cream together until the sugar has almost dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add in the unsweetened applesauce and vanilla extract (and optional vanilla powder), and cream again until combined. Sift in half of dry ingredients and half of the vegan buttermilk mixture, and use the stand mixer or hand mixer to mix together on medium speed. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture, and mix only until the dry ingredients have JUST combined.
- Bake the cupcakes: Use a large cookie scoop or a spoon to fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 of the way full. Place the cupcake tin into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean. Another way to test this is the tops of the cupcakes should be lightly golden and the cupcake should spring back at a light touch.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely before making the vegan whipped cream. While the cupcakes are cooling, make sure that the strawberries are diced.
- When ready to make the coconut whipped cream, scoop the coconut cream fat into the bowl, making sure that the water stays in the can. Reserve the water on the side as needed and/or to use in a smoothie.
- Use a hand mixer and cream the coconut cream fat in the bowl for 2-3 minutes, until whipped.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract (and the whipped cream stabilizer if using), and use the hand mixer to cream the whipped cream again, for at least 5 minutes. The coconut cream should be fluffy and light. If the texture isn’t soft, you can add in 1 tablespoon of coconut water to help.
- Assemblee the cupcakes: Spoon a tablespoon of diced strawberries on top of each cupcake. Pipe or spoon the coconut whipped cream on top.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If you’re not gluten free: You can swap in 188 grams of all purpose flour or 1 1/2 cups, spoon & leveled.
